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Episode 1349: Wonder Hamster
Date March 18, 2019 Summary Ben Lindbergh, Sam Miller, and Effectively Wild listener and Mike Trout Tier Patreon supporter Anthony Scheff banter about the Blue Jays raising salaries for minor leaguers, the team’s motivations for doing so, and whether other teams will follow suit, then answer listener emails about A.J. Hinch getting ejected in a split-squad spring training game, MLB’s demoralizing offseason and whether baseball is in any short-term trouble, and what qualifies as a pitcher’s “stuff,” plus Stat Blasts about the most two-year-old friendly game and the longest careers among players who only ever made the majors in September. Topics * A.J. Hinch Spring Training ejection * Baseball's popularity * When will baseball end * A pitchers “stuff” Intro * Martin Solveig & GTA, "Intoxicated" Outro * Belle & Sebastian, "Lord Anthony" Banter * Anthony’s origin story * Blue Jays increase of minor league players Emails * Barrett from Oklahoma: A.J. Hinch was ejected after one pitch on Friday. Can we hear some ideas or narratives about how this could possibly happen? * Eric Hartman: This offseason has been negative and generally quite bad. I think we all know that baseball is not dying per se, but are you worried about the game -- and if so, how do you think MLB will pull itself out of its rut? * Ben, Kristen, and Hannah: Since Spring Training started, it's become our weekend ritual to watch baseball with our 2 year old daughter after her nap. We watch about a full inning on MLB.tv before putting her shoes on and going to a nearby playground to play on the swings and slides. We are teaching her about strikes by counting each one, about foul balls by shouting out loud, "oh no! he hit it the wrong way!" and about scoring runs by running in place and shouting, "he's going home!" She loves it when batters reach base safely, mostly because she likes to clap and cheer along with the crowd. And she really loves it when a run scores because the cheering is especially loud. However, I notice that her interest wanes a little when an at-bat drags on. Although she doesn't mind it when there's a lot of foul balls. We think she likes encouraging the hitter that he can "try again." Sometimes, we re-watch an exciting play over and over again, like a run scoring double. All of this made us wonder, is there a way on Baseball Reference's Play Index to find the most 2 year-old friendly inning that's still accessible on MLB.tv? The inning would need to include the fewest pitches but the most runs scored. It would need to be within the last few years so we can re-watch it on MLB.tv. And we wouldn't mind if the game included the Dodgers (because that's who we follow), although we wouldn't be averse to watching non-Dodger teams. Lastly, we don't mind watching this inning over and over and over again. We can recite the entire Muppets Christmas Carol movie because of repeated viewings. * Sam (Ireland): Question: does a pitcher's "stuff" = spin rate? StatBlast * The most 2-year-old friendly inning * There was the only game with less than six pitches per baserunner, and it's under five. * It was the Mets vs Phillies on August 16th, 2018, and the 5th inning is the most 2-year-old friendly inning ever. * The player who made the most starts only in September is Fernando Perez, second place was John Poff. Notes * Ben and Sam both think this will accelerate the timeline of paying minor leaguers more. * Anthony thinks the Yankees and Red Sox being good are good for baseball and can go a long way in making people invested. * Sam’s hamster woke up mid statblast, and Sam revealed at night to keep the hamster wheel quiet he wedges a tomato paste can under there. * Sam reads a poem from John Poff. * Anthony offered his unsigned version of “The Only Rule is it has to Work” to the BBWA hes still waiting for a response. Links https://blogs.fangraphs.com/effectively-wild-episode-1349-wonder-hamster/ Link to recent episode with Emily Waldon on minor-league pay Link to Emily Waldon on minor leaguers’ lives Link to Emily and Ken Rosenthal on the Blue Jays raising salaries Link to John Lott on the Jays raising salaries Link to Jeff on intentional walks in spring training Link to Ben Bailey on intentional walks in spring training Link to Hinch explaining why he was thrown out Link to Bryan Curtis on baseball’s perceived decline Link to box score of most two-year-old-friendly game Link to instructions for finding MLB games on YouTube Link to John Poff’s SABR bio Link to live episode with Fernando Perez Link to Episode 323 with Adrian Cardenas Link to preorder The MVP Machine Category:Episodes Category:Guest Episodes Category:Email Episodes